lookit, i DIM*.

*Did It Myself. Of course.

Never one to let a minor defect get in the way, that’s me. In fact, sometimes minor defects are good, because then you can be the pushy broad who walks up to the counter carrying said article with said minor defects in your sweaty paws and ask if you can get a discount for those minor defects, especially if said minor defects are things like the genuine faux leather trim on a handwoven wastebasket losing its grip on the double stick tape that was sticking it to the wastebasket.

Then you zip over to the pound store, grab a packet of that double sided tape, cut it to the dimensions of the genuine faux leather trim, and reapply the trim to the wastebasket.

I’m a big fan of minor defects that you know you can repair easily, or at least hide effectively.

I do have a couple of rules about minor defects, though.

Be sure that you can either repair or hide or live with the defects, or you’ll have just wasted your money. Even with the discount.

Make sure the defect(s) is not something that will ruin your joy in having whatever it is because you know it’s there, even after it’s repaired or hidden. Some people can live with a big chip in the back of that ceramic lamp because they never see it, and other people always feel a psychic itch in their soul knowing it’s there. (Or they know that their snoopy sister in law is going to look for it.)

Remember that sometimes the pain of repairing the defect(s) is not worth the discount. Sometimes, it’s better to pay full price.

Anyway, double stick tape, whether in sheets or from a dispenser, are your friend. The pound shop (UK)/dollar store (US) is great for stuff like this. I try to go through the pound shop every couple of days or so to see what’s new on the shelves. I spotted this stuff along with another great DIY tool, white tack, and so when I got my forlorn little wastebasket, I just stopped at the pound shop on the way back and grabbed a packet of tape and white tack.

The white tack, though, was for a different project, which was getting our little metal coffee sign up in the kitchen onto the tiles of the backsplash behind the stovetop. As renters, we can’t put holes in the tile (or at least we’re supposed to avoid it), so the white tack is very handy for stuff like that.

(J’s family gave him a fancy-schmancy coffee machine for his birthday last year, so now he’s the barista for the family. We always make sure we’ve got fancy biscuits (UK)/cookies (US) and other treats in the house to go with coffee or tea, as we’ll often invite everyone back to our place for coffee and treats after dinner, or they’ll drop in on their way between one place and another. It’s nice being around family again. I just wish my sisters could do the same.)

And this morning, we re-arranged all of the kitchen appliances on the counters to see if it would work better. J’s having problems getting the coffee machine not to slip around on the tiles. We tried a glass surface protector, and it slid around on the uneven tiles a bit. We’re contemplating a piece of heavy granite or thinnish rubber or something with those grippy feet.